Have you been coughing and wheezing like crazy lately? Asthma seems like a reasonable diagnosis, right? After all, about 40 million people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with asthma. Not so fast, cautions Dr. Jamie Koufman. If you have trouble breathing IN you may be one of more than 100 million Americans suffering from silent reflux ― not asthma.
“Eighty percent of people with asthma are misdiagnosed,” says Dr. Jamie Koufman, a pioneering laryngologist, director of the Voice Institute of New York, and author of THE CHRONIC COUGH ENIGMA – Acid Reflux, Asthma, and Recalcitrant Cough – The Path to a Cure (Katalitix Media, distributed by Simon & Schuster, $14.95). Dr. Koufman is also the author of the New York Times bestseller,Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet Cookbook & Cure.
More than 20 million Americans suffer from what is known as an enigmatic chronic cough. It is one of the most common reasons why a person seeks medical attention; but unfortunately, many fail to receive an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment. Instead, they are frequently misdiagnosed with other respiratory problems, most commonly asthma, and they are paying a high price for treatment. Only if you have trouble breathing OUT is it asthma, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the annual cost of treating asthma in the U.S. is more than $56 billion.
Hoarseness, postnasal drip, sinusitis, allergies, asthma, sore throat, and cough that don’t respond to traditional treatments could signal silent reflux. The source of misery begins with the consequences of what you eat: stomach contents backs up into the throat causing laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR), the medical term for reflux into the throat. LPR is also known as airway reflux and silent reflux. “Silent” describes LPR reflux when a person is unaware that the problem is actually acid reflux. THE CHRONIC COUGH ENIGMA explains how to recognize, diagnose, and treat neurogenic and reflux-related cough.
I received this book to review and actually found it quite interesting. I think it is a Must-Read for everyone. I had actually never heard of Chronic Cough Enigma before reading this book and found this book quite insightful!
We have teamed up for a giveaway and one winner will win the book! To enter, leave a comment below telling us why you would like to read it. Must live within the US. Deadline to enter is September 15, 2014 at noon. (PST) One winner will randomly be selected via Random.org.
Self Disclosure: I received a free book to facilitate this feature.
I am always reading different ideas of how to stay healthy, I feel this book would be a great resource to many of the families I teach .
I just realized I am 24 hours late discovering you. I think the book would benefit me because I have been dealing with the embarrassment of chronic cough all my life. Recently I have seen four doctors: My family physician who sent me to an allergist in Florence, SC who sent me back to my family doctor who then sent me to a Gastrologist in Charleston who sent me to an Asthma Doctor in Charleston. I do not believe I have asthma because when the Gastro doctor gave me Nexium, my cough began to disappear. Then my family doctor put me on a diet and my symptoms got much better, so much, in fact, that I usually only need one a day and sometimes none. I am seeing my family physician on Monday for a follow-up and I am going to tell him about this article.
Hope it will be helpful!
Congrats Amber!